Baby Bump - 35 weeks

Bump 35 weeks

Bump 31 weeks

Yay... only 4 more weeks left to go. I really hope it's less than that. I'm just feeling miserable, grumpy and emotional. My body is running out of room for this little guy. The waddle has definitely set in full time and the swelling in the extremities is too. I'm still having strong contractions but not enough to warrant any concern or action yet. Does the belly look lower? It sure feels like it.

I've gotten about 1/2 the things needed for his arrival done. The only absolute things I must complete before he arrives is get diapers, setup the changing station, setup the recliner rocker and get the bassinet ready.

Last night was the first time in a long time that I got a good night's rest. I only got up once for a potty break and I slept like a baby the rest of the night. Since we got Kaitelyn her new bedroom set, she's been sleeping in her own big girl bed at night. It's been a lifesaver since I use 4-5 pillows to sleep with right now.

Kaitelyn being a silly goose while Luke takes some photos.

Baby Update

So...we have an official date our little man is to arrive. The surgery is scheduled for January 25, 2009 at 10:00am. I really hope he decides to come a little sooner, but at least we have a set date to make sure we are ready for his arrival.

These days, I've been feeling a bit nauseous, extremely sore and tired. I went in for my 2 week checkup on Monday and the doctor said I was measuring almost 4 weeks ahead. So at that time, I was 33 weeks, but my belly measured like I was almost 37 weeks along. Well...no wonder I feel the way I feel. The doctor was a little concerned about gestational diabetes so she ordered another ultrasound to check for fluid build up and the size of "little man". As far as I could tell and after asking questions, everything looked normal. He's just a big boy, he measured in at an approximate weight of 6lbs. 10oz. on Monday.

He is still pretty active and when he moves around, it almost takes my breathe away. Most of his movement is right in my belly button area or near my ribs on the right side. However, he doesn't dig in my ribs like Kaitelyn did, I think it's because he has been sitting a lot lower that Kaitelyn ever did. He is in a good position for delivery and it seems like he is happy there. I've noticed in the past couple of days that my contractions have gotten a bit stronger. I have to stop what I'm doing and concentrate on my breathing. I hope it's a sign he is coming early or maybe it's my body telling me I need to slow down and take it easy. I don't remember having strong contractions ever with Kaitelyn until I was actually in labor.

Luke and I haven't officially picked out a name yet, but here are a couple of names we have been toying around with: Carter James, Kayden James, or Kaiden James. Just as a side note: if you don't like the names, we don't care.

Anyway, I will post a new picture of the baby bump soon.

Can you believe the snow?

This past week, we received quite a bit of snow for this area. On Thursday, we received about 4 inches at our house. And tonight...well, we are hunkered down watching another round of snow. It looks like a blizzard outside. Luke and I don't remember seeing this much snow since we were little. We are expected to receive around 8 inches in our area by tomorrow. Can you believe that?!? There is a possibility that we may lose power from the strong winds moving in, but this time we are totally prepared. We have a generator now and don't have to worry about not having heat again. But, now that we are prepared, we will never lose power again. It almost feels like we're in Kansas again.

Anyway on Thursday, Kaitelyn and I spent a couple of hours outside playing in the snowflakes, trying to make snow angels and building Kaitelyn's 1st snowman. The snowman came out smaller than I anticipated, but it's still cute.


Today, just before the snow began falling again, a Budweiser truck became stuck on our icy street just in front of our house. It was pretty exciting, our street just doesn't get much excitement (that has to be a good thing...right?). The poor guys were stuck for about 45 minutes putting chains on and moving kegs of beer around. After all that, they still had to back a ways down the road to get some momentum. It was a white knuckle moment, the truck had gotten really close to the vehicles on the other side of the street. Those of us that were outside, clapped and cheered them on when they finally made it up the hill.

Annual Christmas Tree Hunt - 12/13/08

Where shall I start...it was such a fun day!!

This year, instead of going out for breakfast or meeting up at a parking lot, Luke and I invited our friends to our home for a big homestyle breakfast. It was so delicious.

Afterward, we caravaned out to Quilcene National Forest for our Christmas Trees. The weather was absolutely perfect. The sun was shining, there wasn't too much snow to get stuck in and everyone had a great time. I think this year's adventure was the best yet. It's become a tradition since we've moved to WA to hunt for our tree and this year's tree has been the best too.

I feel so blessed to have such wonderful friends in our lives. We always have a great time whenever we get together.

Here are some pictures of our day...

Traveling up one of the roads. Beautiful snow covered trees, it's so breathtaking.
In person, it makes you feel so lucky to live in such a beautiful area.

Barreling through heavy branches in our way up the path.
Now that Like has had his truck a while,
he's not as concerned with the paint job anymore.

A beautiful view from our first stop.
We stopped for a little while to play while the guys planned out our route.

Kaitelyn throwing snowballs, she had a blast playing with our friend Kyle's dog, "Toby".
I'll tell you a funny story about Toby, we needed a small bush cleared away to take a group picture.
So Kyle told Toby to clear this one bush away, and in no time at all, that bush was gone.
The roots and all. It was so funny to watch :-)

Baby Clara, isn't she angelic?
She is such a happy little girl, she smiles and giggles ALL the time.

Clara, Maddy, Kaitelyn, Allison and Me. Us girls posing for a group photo.
Oh yeah, can't forget "little man". He's growing so fast these days.

Us getting ready to head to a different road in pursuit of our tree.

Luke cutting down our perfect tree.

Oh yeah, Luke has a new buddy to enjoy 4x4ing with him. After we were all done getting our trees and playing, the guys pulled into their favorite area to spin donuts and climb a hill. Although the area didn't have much snow, the boys made the most of it. Kaitelyn absolutely LOVED IT! She kept asking daddy to do more spins and climb the hill. Poor Allison about wet her pants, I'm sure.

Here's video of one of the runs...

Pronunciation

So Monday, Luke was hanging out in the truck with Kaitelyn while I went inside Fred Meyer to pick up a Christmas present for Kaitelyn. While I was inside Kaitelyn was talking about a truck. Only when she was saying "Truck" it didn't come out or sound like "Truck". Let's just say...it's not a pleasant word. But I gotta say, it was so hilarious to hear her say it.

She's getting really good about describing things and putting her sentences together. It's so fun to hear her tell a story. She gets so excited sometimes that she will repeat a word or phrase a few times before she moves on.